Soccer, Segovia, and Siestas

If there was one word to describe this past week it would be InSaNe! On top of our Spanish classes at the University our regular courses from BYU started which brought on more homework and class time. Who wants to focus on school when you are in Spain though? This week went as follows:

Wednesday-Flamenco Ballet

Many of my friends can verify that I have absolutely no idea how to dance, and can barely keep a rythym so it was very ironic for me to be attending a dance performance. I have to admit that I was not the most enthusiastic one in our group about attending the Flamenco Ballet, unlike some-Luisa Chil! However it was AWESOME! The flamenco is an amazingly rigid dance and the performers have to keep perfect position all throughout (they could not even smile!). The costumes, the dances, the music were all so great that we have been inspired to sign up for a Flamenco class (I know you will all be dying for pictures of that).

Thursday-Real Madrid Soccer Game

Being the innocent traveler that I am I failed to look into the rivals of Real Madrid. As it would happen we went to the biggest rivalry game for Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid vs. Real Madrid. This was probably the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life. I'm just going to put it out there that the Spanish are UN POCO LOCO for their soccer. Our little group was all rooting for Real Madrid not just because they have the cutest players but because they are the best, of course. Two members in our group were wearing Real Madrid jerseys which typically is not a problem when you go to sporting events in the United States but it definitely is here. After we walked from the metro station to the stadium we had been flipped of more times than I have ever been in my whole life, and our little David got spit on in the face! We learned our lesson and made everyone cover up to not avoid any other confrontations. Inside the stadium we were forced to split up and sit in our assigned seats. My friend Luisa and I sat together but as fate would have it we were the only chicas in our section. I heard more curse words in Spanish than I think I will ever here, and phrases such as Es Increible, Que es esto Felipe (I assumed that was a player but I'm not really sure on that). We stumbled across Police baricades (not to mention the fact that the police men had guns, face masks, and shields), drunk Spaniards, and crazy old men all in one night. So you would think that would be where the adventure stops right? Oh no because as it would happen we missed our bus home by 5 minutes and ended up being stranded at the bus station for another HOUR. By the time we made it home it was 3 AM and we had to be promptly on time for our trip to Segovia in the morning.

Insane Soccer Fans

I was scared out of my mind!

Giant Banner of someone running over a Real Madrid Player

Friday- Day trip to Segovia

Segovia is probably the most beautiful city that I have ever seen. The most popular site is probably the Roman aqueduct but it has so much more to offer. We went on tours of cathedrals, castles, and wandered the shops. We got a little photo happy here so there are many pictures for you all to enjoy!

Church in Segovia

Our little group wandering Segovia

Roman Aqueduct

So BEAUTIFUL (talking about the view of course!!)

Michael-Ann always has to make an appearance. . . I hereby dedicate this portion of the blog to her :)

Segovian Castle

Saturday- Museum day in Madrid

Saturday was heaven for Felicia and I. We had forgotten what it was like to sleep in and we finally had the chance! We met up with our little group and made our way to Madrid to knock out some homework assignments, finally. We hit up the Archeological Museum and the Museo del Prado. We also had a little taste of America by having lunch at McDonalds.  

  

Even on Museum days we have fun!

McDonalds never tasted sooo good

Sunday- HOMEWORK.

All in all we managed to squeeze fun into our crazy schedule here and of course had many laughs along the way.

No Fumes Por Favor

Alright everyone I know my blog has been a huge disapointment but I feel like I owe you all a nice long blog. Felicia and I have been lacking in the internet department since we've been to Spain but we finally have wi-fi (how this came about will be explained later!).

When we arrived here we did not know what our family would be like and we had not had contact with them at all. We knew their address and that was pretty much it. We were very surprised when we had been placed with a family of HEAVY smokers. The entire house reeked of smoke and unfortunately all of our stuff did also. I was somewhat disappointed with that whole situation and my mom was very surprised that BYU would allow us to stay with a family of smokers. She told me I should talk to my director and see if there was anything that could be done about the situtation. Well I am not the person who wants to cause any sort of problems and I was about 95% sure that nothing would be done so Felicia and I decided to grin and bear it. After all Life was good and we were in SPAIN.

Well mothers do know best and as it turns out we were not supposed to be staying with a smoking family. The university had to move us to a new location and that is now our current residence. We are living the life of luxury here for sure! Clean air, a mini gym, and WI-FI all in the same place-how did we get to be so lucky? Our little palace is quite the hang out for exchange students. There are 4 other exchange students living here also (3 Brazilians, and one Mexican) so I am sure dinner time is going to be quite the experience.

Aside from this little mixup life is grand and I have great news . . . I am going to PoRtUgAl! Felicia and I have plane tickets and we are so excited to go with a group of friends from Spain February 3rd. Well as they say a picture is worth a thousand words so here a few more from Spain.

Supposedly if you don't walk down this street you will never get married!



Lost in the subway station. . . again




Press conference for Real Madrid




This is a real person posing as the thinker!



Creeper Australian magician in La Plaza Mayor

The first museum we went to and yes it was a clothing Museum!

I wish this was a real picture!

I have the best friends out here. . . these guys are amazing!

Sitting where the team sits at the stadium. . . we are that cool!

España




El Palacio Royal



Ok Everyone I am the absolute worst at blogging but I figure it is better late than never right? I have so much to tell you all but it so hard to remember everything that we have done this week. I wish you were all here with me so you could see everything because the pictures do not do this place justice.



The exact center of Spain



My lifetime goal has been set at living in Spain. The city, food, people, language are all amazing. I am in LOVE! I have somewhat learned my way into Madrid and now there is no going back. We have spent the entire past weekend in Madrid and there is still so much to see. The city is breathtaking. There is so much history behind all of the buildings and the entire city we will definitely be going back for more.



Food we will be eating in Heaven no joke . . . YUM!!



The Spaniards know how to COOK. We have discovered El Mercado de San Miguel (I’m not sure this is a good thing or not. . . we will see what the scale says at the end of the trip!). It is this huge market with different vendors and they have the most amazingly delicious food there. We have enjoyed churros, chocolate truffles, tomates con queso, pollo, pizza and I’m sure more to come. 

  



These guys scared me so bad haha but the street performers are awesome here

This trip has made me aware of how much I absolutely HATE the subway. Our only option unfortunately is to take the subway and this has been quite the challenge for me. I cannot keep my balance at all and I am constantly falling. Not to mention that they are packed full. I didn’t know so many people could fit in such a small space, but trust me they can.  

 So far we have visited El Palacio Royal, El Museo del Traje, and of course the real Madrid stadium- but no sightings of Ronaldo yet, I’m still holding out hope!

This was my ticket to Ronaldo's heart haha

Live Love Laugh

We love EL BUS! It't the one part of the day we don't have to walk. . . Yay.

Hola from España. Phew it has been quite the few days here! I think Sunday was my lucky day for travel because upon checking my weighed in at a whopping 50.0 lbs which I think deserves a round of applause. Right before our plane boarded my name was called and I was bumped to Business Class (thank you very much Riches family). While I enjoyed the finer things in life such as foot rests, a pre-boarding beverage, warm hand towels my little Felicia was stuck in coach, however, she did wander up to say hi to me on the plane. Leaving Denver seemed to take an eternity and after deicing we were almost an hour behind schedule. This was no bueno because we now only had half an hour from the time our plane landed and our connection from D.C. left. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck in Washington D.C. airport not able to make it while the rest of the group was on their way to Spain. As it would turn out we landed ran to the departure board and discovered our plane was one gate over from our previous gate-we must have been living right this week! I crammed into my little seat in coach and kept reminiscing about my business class days, I’m sure Felicia was tired of hearing about that by the time we landed.

After arrival in Madrid we wasted no time. We met up with our host parents and were taken to our new casa. Felicia and I settled into our new room and unpacked our massive bags which took up the entire floor in our bedroom! We were then introduced to the fine dining here in Spain with a huge (literally could have fed my entire family) lunch. I have never been so full but I am soooo thankful for the Siesta. After 16 hours of no sleep I was in dire need of some rest.

Nuestro Cuarto

On our way to la universidad

We awoke the next morning to some pastries for breakfast and hot milk. Felicia and I then learned our way through the bus system here at Alcalá. We found the university, bank, and cosmetic shop (I wanted to cry they have Clinique Mascara!!).  We made our first purchase here in Spain. . . a bus pass! Who would have thought that they sold bus passes in the tobacco shop? We then wandered back to the bus to head home. In the process we discovered why Europeans are so skinny. They literally walk everywhere! Felicia and I walked to the shopping mall which is conveniently only a five minutes from our little casa. I’m sure we will be going there frequently after all they have Zara and H&M what more do you need??

 

  We definitely know our way here, look Mom everything is on sale!

With this great adventure one big lesson I am learning is to Live, Love, and Laugh. Whenever I make mistakes or Felicia and I are completely lost we just laugh it off, walk miles back to where we started and start over and at the end of the day we end up where we need to be. Viva España!

La Casa

Leaving on a Jet Plane

"I'm leavin on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again (actually I do it's April 8th!)."

As many of you know I am going to be in Spain for study abroad this Winter Semester. I am so excited for this adventure and I can't wait until I am in Spain. I have been busy since school finished planning, shopping, and getting all my travel information ready and now the day is almost here. These past few days have been consumed with packing, packing, and more packing. With the all the airline rules and regulations I am forced to fit everything I need for 3 months in two bags. As most of you know I DO NOT pack light so this has been quite the challenge for me. My room has been a disaster zone for about two weeks now and  my mom has finally reached her breaking point when I started sleeping on the couch. Brace yourself because the pictures that are about to be shown are quite scary!

As you can cleary see my bed is hidden below mounds of clothes all of which need to fit into my two teeny tiny suitcases shown here.

You can probably see how this is a problem and why I am in need of serious HELP!!

I received worse news after a brief call to the airport I was informed that I can only take one checked suitcase. AHHHH!! After repacking and weighing and continuing with that pattern for about 3 hours I think I have finally done it. The bags are packed and I will be on my way to Spain in one day.

Sorry to bore you all with the terribly exciting news of my packing but don't worry because in about 4 days I will fill you all in on the exciting adventures in Spain.